A Deal with the Devil (Is a Deal with Mr Tux)
by Crystal Volcheck
Summary: Skipper is tired of Private's namby-pamby attitude, but he's in for a rude awakening when the Amarillo Kid comes looking for a Mr. Tux, which leads to the discovery of a whole other side of Private, one that's just as bad as the Devil himself. -3rd installment of the Park Avenue series-
1. Namby-Pamby

**So I was working on In the Line of Duty and got stuck, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to finish outlining Mr. Tux. Which then turned in to, "maybe it wouldn't hurt to type part of Mr. Tux" Now you have the first chapter of Mr. Tux, which I've decided to call the story A Deal with the Devil (Is a Deal with Mr. Tux) Now I know I had told you which stories would be in what order, but I think I'll just get whatever ones I can up, in whatever order I can write them. But I will be working on the ones that have won the polls and the ones I've already started. No more until I get those caught up.**

**Disclaimer****: ****I have no claim to the rights of the Penguins of Madagascar, nor do I make any profit from writing this work of fiction, inspired by the Penguins of Madagascar.**

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**A Deal with the Devil (Is a Deal with Mr. Tux)**

**Chapter One: ****Namby-Pamby**

_Children, hypocrisy/__that's what I give/ __you can take it from me/ __If you don't, won't live to see/__One last act of tragedy -__Hollywood Undead- 'Glory'_

"Unbelievable Private, my grandmother drives faster than you! We could have been home an hour ago if I had let Kowalski drive, we would have been home 3 hours ago if Rico had been driving and we would have been passing people not have people pass us!" Private flinched at Skipper's words, trying to keep a hold on his emotions. He wasn't even sure why Skipper had been so upset, all he had done was drive home like Skipper had ordered.

"I'm sorry Skippa; I guess I'm just too much of a nice guy." As well as a follow the rules guy, but that went unspoken. Laws were made for a reason, he wasn't just going to speed home because he wants to get home, he did want to get home alive after all.

"You know what they say about nice guys don't you Private?"

"They finish last?"

"No, they end up dead! Is that what you want? To end up dead? Sometimes we just don't have a choice and we have to do things that we'll regret the rest of our lives. But when it's either kill or be killed, regret is a small price to pay." Even Kowalski and Rico seemed to be in shock at their leader's outburst, but remained quiet not wanting Skipper's wrath turned around on them. It was like Skipper's temper was on a hair-trigger today.

"I don't see how any of this relates to my driving, but if you're quite done, do I at least have permission to retire to my room for the night?" He didn't give the older man a chance to answer before darting up the stairs, eyes burning from unshed tears. Upon reaching his room, he made sure to slam the door shut as hard as he possibly could. It wasn't fair! Skipper didn't know one thing about him! He wasn't always a nice guy, that's why he transferred from England and didn't join MI6. He could never be like his Uncle Nigel, who was a cold calculating man. Nothing like what he remembered his parents to be like.

The tears were starting to fall freely as he sat on the floor of his room, back against the cold door, and knees tight against his chest. His parents had been nice, too nice according to Uncle Nigel and that's why they were killed. They thought their targets deserved a second chance, that everyone was a good person deep down. He still remembered the night when Uncle Nigel came to the door, he was only 9 years old and being told that his parents would never be coming home. At the time he had told that, it had been a car accident, but as he got older around his 13th birthday or so, he learned the truth or at least as much of the truth, MI6 was willing to give up.

Once his sobs stopped, he was able to hear the others talking down stairs and it made him feel like a child.

"Skipper I must say that was little harsh, so what if Private's not an aggressive driver, there was no need to say any of that to him. Besides would you really want another Rico?" There was a gruff reply to Kowalski's question that could have only been Rico taking offense.

"It wasn't just the driving Kowalski, that boy, is just that, a boy. He has no idea what it takes to survive in the real world. I've been hoping since he arrived that he would lose the whole naïve act, but anymore I don't think it's possible. In fact I would love to have another Rico on the team, if it meant that there wouldn't be any more namby-pamby attitude on this team." This time it was Rico who spoke, but Private couldn't catch any of it. Although it sounded like he was pretty angry, especially when he heard Kowalski and Skipper both start to shout followed by heavy footsteps coming up the stairs.

A heavy silence hung in the air for the rest of the night only being broken by the sounds of Kowalski getting ready for bed. He never heard Skipper come up.

Then next morning Private was woken up by Skipper's overly loud voice.

"I told you there is no Mr. Tux here; now leave before I take Rico off his leash." Fear grabbed a hold of him and he nearly fell off his bed. It had been years since he had heard that name, there was only one person who would still have unfinished business with Mr. Tux.

"You can do this Private." He whispered to himself as he descended the stairs to find the rest of his team in the foyer with the one person he could have gone the rest of his life without seeing. "I thought you gave up trying to find me years ago Kid."

"Well, hello there Mr. Tux, it's been a long while, longer than a yellow snake in a bowl of red bean chili! Now I reckon we have some unfinished business."

"What on Earth is he talking about Private? You don't have unfinished business." Skipper looked at him, not even bothering to hide the surprise and suspicion on his face.

"That not true Skippa, the Amarillo Kid and I have been on a collision course for a long, long time. Although I've already told you Kid, I'm a different person now. I quit playing your game a long time ago and vowed to never play ever again." Private snapped, his voice sharp, out of the corner of his eye he watched Rico and Kowalski flinch.

"Never say never." a smirk filled the Kid's features and Private felt his annoyance blossom in to full anger. Which was promptly used to slam the door shut in the Amarillo Kid's face, it was oddly satisfying, at least until he realized that all of the attention was on him.

"Well, Private this brings a whole new dimension to your character and let me tell you, I don't like it." Skipper's sapphire glare had him pinned and he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Why don't we all have a seat first, it's certainly been an eventful two days. And I know I'm going to need more coffee to process all of this." Thankfully, Kowalski cut in, acting as peacekeeper and giving him a few more minutes to figure out what he could say.

"Well what do you have to say for yourself Private?" Three sets of eyes stared at him and after a moment of silence, Private began to speak.


	2. Trick-Shot

**Hello lovelies, I'm done with midterms so I have a bit more time to work on stories. It also helps that I'm over my initial angst of a terrible friend and terrible boyfriend who made plans without considering my feelings, but that's an unrelated story that doesn't matter now. ****On another non-related note, I have fallen in love with Free! it's one of the best anime I've watched in years. Rei is my favorite and I totally ship RinRei, but I do love Reigisa as well.**

**Anyway, about this fic, I'm going to try to make it so that it leads into In the Line of Duty, because I can't help connect the two. So just hang in with me while Skipper behaves like a total ass, it'll all become clear soon enough. **

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**A Deal with the Devil **

**Chapter Two: Trick-Shot**

_"And in the wake of his mistake  
So many lives are broken  
Gone forever from a loaded bullet"_

_- Nickelback 'Side of a Bullet'_

"Well what do you have to say for yourself Private?" Three sets of eyes stared at him and after a moment of silence, Private began to speak.

"As you know before I transferred to CENTRAAL, I was MI6, of course the records of my service during that time are classified and for a good reason. I had a very specific skill set and top marksmanship; you can see where I'm going with this." It was like a completely different person sitting with them, Private's warm nature replaced with a cold and bitter disposition. Rico shifted closer to Kowalski recognizing the tone in the younger man's voice. He had heard a tone many times before in not just his own voice, but in the voices of men who were about to confess their deepest sins.

"You weren't just any MI6; you were part of Group 13." Kowalski had chosen the words carefully an untested theory as he tried to connect the dots. While the corners of Private's mouth twitched upwards in to a small knowing file. Group 13 didn't exist according to records, but records were nothing more than paper or strings of codes that could easily be destroyed and altered.

"I was young and bitter, just learning the truth of my parents' death and my Uncle Nigel saw it as a perfect opportunity to put my rage to good use. I created a new identity, Mr. Tux who left nothing but a trail of broken hearts and bodies. And that's just the tip of the iceberg on all the things I've done under that God-forsaken name." The laugh was harsh, escaping Private's lips, for a moment it seemed like he was about to go in to hysterics.

Skipper watched doubtful even if Kowalski and Rico seemed to be hanging on to every word and taking it as nothing but the truth, "Assuming this is all true and not just some wild tale, how does the Amarillo Kid fit in?" It was hard for him to see his men as anything more than what was made on their first impression.

"It became a game to me, a game that I was good at, too good. I started to catch the attention of miscellaneous hired guns. One of which was the Amarillo Kid, so we decided to play a game of our own. It was just little things at first, trick shots, and potted plants maybe a bird or two. Friendly target practice you could say.

Until he started coming after my targets and then it became a game of who could get the first shot. I was ahead for the longest time and then he started to close in, leaving us at a tie. We decided that the next target would declare the winner. When that day came, I was stuck at an impossible angle, my target blocked and no time to find a better one, while Amarillo was seconds away from a clear shot and I was afraid I was going to lose. So I did the worst thing imaginable, I took the shot first, regardless of who was blocking my target."

"One bullet and two bodies, the impossible shot." The math was clear to everyone, even before Kowalski spoke. How could this be their Private? An elite sniper who thought of killing his targets as a game just didn't fit the young kid they knew.

"I didn't stick around long enough to see if I had actually made the shot, I got out of there the second after I pulled the trigger. The Kid caught me in an alley and told me, he actually congratulated me. Said that I could do the one thing he couldn't and I vowed then and there that I would never play the game again. The minute I returned to MI6 I requested a transfer, but I guess the Kid followed me anyway." Tears were falling silently down Private's cheeks and seeing him like this was heartbreaking for all of them, except Skipper who seemed to be almost gleeful.

"This is fantastic!"

"What?" Kowalski nearly choked, spraying not only the table with lukewarm coffee, but Rico as well. Who only cast an irritated look at his partner, more caught up in Skipper standing proudly and making his way over to Private.

"Don't you see Private this is exactly what we need! No more namby-pamby attitude just cut throat tactics."

"We're you even listening me? I can't let myself become that monster again! People used to say that to make a deal with Mr. Tux was to make a deal with the devil himself! That's not who I am."

"But it is part of you and it's the part we need, especially since Rico's been getting soft over the years."

"What?" It was Rico's turn to be surprised, what exactly had Skipper meant by that. Even Kowalski and Private seemed to be taken back by Skipper's statement.

"Come on Rico, you and Marlene are always going to art shows, and I can't remember the last time you tried to blow up the block. Now Private, is a time bomb that just waiting to go off." Sapphire eyes locked on the man in question causing him to flinch. "Next time Kid comes around, you take him out."

"I can't, I won't, and you can't make me." Private snapped slamming his hand on the table as he stood. "You might be able to live with being a cold heartless bastard, but I can't."

"What did you just say to me?"

"You heard me, Skippa. I came here so that I wouldn't have to put up with hot-headed commanders who cared more about the mission than their own men."

"You don't think I care about my men? What would-"

"Enough!" Silence fell over the group, everyone looking at Kowalski in shock, except for Rico who looked like he was on the edge of killing someone. "Skipper, with all respect, you are clearly not fit to handle the team at his time. I'm taking over as commander and my first act is to grant Private a temporary leave from duty."

"You can't do this Kowalski!"

"I can and I will, HQ will have a full report by tomorrow morning and the odds of them overriding my decision are slim."

"I can't believe it, never thought I would see the day where you grew a pair Kowalski. Fine, I'll step down, but this is far from over." Skipper held his hands up in surrender and make is way to the stairs leaving the rest of the team alone.

"Thanks, K'walski." Private folded in on himself, returning to his chair and making himself as small as possible. He felt so raw and broken, a hand quickly squeezed his shoulder and then he was alone at the table.


End file.
